Now they think housing bust will linger to mid 2009...

[Rasputin_Vol]

Man, how incredibly stupid can people in this country be? The lenders and the borrowers are are going to flush this economy into a tailspin.

I've always wondered how so many people were able to afford those big $500k McMansions in West Knoxville/Farragut (or California for that matter).

I guess we see many of them couldn't afford them after all.

[MG1968]

read the fine print.

anybody who signs a mortgage that includes a balloon payment at the end deserves what's coming to them.

[myrobbins7]

We will be feeling the housing bust for a while. The markets have went to crap, down big today and looking at the futures, down 107.00 for Wed. already. I think the FED will cut by 1/2 point at the next meeting, but I dont know if that is going to be enough.

[Vol Mania 21]

well i bought a house 3 and a half months ago. good deal on it as well

[utvolpj]

Originally Posted by MG1968

read the fine print.

anybody who signs a mortgage that includes a balloon payment at the end deserves what's coming to them.

Anyone who signs mortgage papers without signing them deserves it. Plus, I had most of mine before closing so I knew what was going on. Then again, I also knew I could not afford a $500k house

[Rasputin_Vol]

What's crazy is that a lot of the people that have these ARM's can't refinance before the rates reset because the amount they owe is more than the equity they have in the house. Prices of homes are dropping and people that thought they had a $500k investment are now looking at a house that is actually worth significantly less in the market.

But you can't cry for these lenders, either. They should be penalized for throwing out these loans that they knew people couldn't afford.

[MG1968]

the lenders were forced to give out those loans by advocates for the "low income families" who hounded Congress for the legislation.

[volinbham]

It's kinda like forest fires - this thing needs to run it's course for future economic growth.

I hope DC doesn't agree with Hillary on a government bail-out. Let the correction happen.

[WA_Vol]

The problem IMO is a surplus of homes. More homes then buyers, until that changes housing prices will continue to drop. I blame the builders to a degree, many of them will not survive IMO. But this needs to happen, too many builders too many homes etc.

The cheap mexican workers coming over illegally building homes why the builders were filling their pockets has come to an end.

[**ORANGEBLOOD**]

Alot of people felt like you oklavol, realtors have been saying inventory was heavy on a certain home. In our area they said it was the 180-200k home. Now that the inventory is down the homes still are not selling. So that blows that theory. As a small time builder I can say that this wont push me out, and I sure havent been "filling my pockets with money" I think people assume that. But those people are uninformed. It would be almost impossible to make a full time living building spec homes, unless they are selling like they were 3 years ago. Unless you are one of the really big big companys, like Fortress etc.. But for the most part builders are good people that work hard and make a decent living.

[volinbham]

Originally Posted by **ORANGEBLOOD**

Alot of people felt like you oklavol, realtors have been saying inventory was heavy on a certain home. In our area they said it was the 180-200k home. Now that the inventory is down the homes still are not selling. So that blows that theory. As a small time builder I can say that this wont push me out, and I sure havent been "filling my pockets with money" I think people assume that. But those people are uninformed. It would be almost impossible to make a full time living building spec homes, unless they are selling like they were 3 years ago. Unless you are one of the really big big companys, like Fortress etc.. But for the most part builders are good people that work hard and make a decent living.

Thanks for the dose of reality. I'm not denying that the problem is big but it really gets magnified by media coverage and assumptions about how the housing market works.

[WA_Vol]

Originally Posted by **ORANGEBLOOD**

Alot of people felt like you oklavol, realtors have been saying inventory was heavy on a certain home. In our area they said it was the 180-200k home. Now that the inventory is down the homes still are not selling. So that blows that theory. As a small time builder I can say that this wont push me out, and I sure havent been "filling my pockets with money" I think people assume that. But those people are uninformed. It would be almost impossible to make a full time living building spec homes, unless they are selling like they were 3 years ago. Unless you are one of the really big big companys, like Fortress etc.. But for the most part builders are good people that work hard and make a decent living.

If they are not trying to make as much money as possible then why are they hiring all these illegals then? What's the incentive to hire them? The majority of illegals work in farming and building trades.

[MontereyVol]

I agree you shouldnt be blaming the builders, they go where damand goes. Individuals who jumped in with no real experience in building/restoration trying to flip houses hurt the situation a lot! Overall, it goes to the people themselves buying something they know they cant afford hoping to flip the house before the ARM adjusts.

[droski]

I can barely buy a 2 bedroom condo for 500K.

and I don't feel sorry for anyone in the slightest who buys a house they can't afford.

The fact is people got greedy and they paid for it.

[coffeevol]

As a realtor, I must tell you all that it is not as bad as it is marketed by the media. Yes there are areas that are real bad. But those are your places where prices were over inflated like Cali, FL, las vegas but in middle TN we have remained steady with only a slight drop, mostly caused by over building in those areas. For example in my market homes over 250K+ have slowed quite a bit but the low end have picked up a little so it is a fine balancing act of market correction. It averages that every 6 years you will have a down turn that last 1 1/2- 2-1/2 years, and lets face it the market has been too good for too long and we are due for a little adjustment.